I think heís a smart guy, a brilliant tactician, a relatable leader, and a meticulous planner, and thereís no doubt in my mind, even with his head coaching career off to an 0-9 start, that he was the right hire for the 49ers.

Yes, I believe the 49ersí franchise is in good hands with Shanahan at the helm.

That said, I vehemently disagree with his decision to start C.J. Beathard over Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback for Sundayís game against the New York Giants.

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At the very least, I donít like the messages it sends.

Iím not telling you anything you donít know, but Iím not in the 49ersí meeting rooms — I didn’t partake in the 49ersí preparation ahead of Sundayís game.

But what I do know is something you know, deep-down, as well: Beathard doesnít give the 49ers their best chance to win on Sunday, and Sunday might be the 49ersí best chance to win a game — a single, solitary game — this season.

I understand, fully, that Garoppolo is new to Shanahanís system — that heís learning a new playbook and that itís aggressive to think that after 11 days in Santa Clara, the 49ersí new quarterback would be fully abreast to everything Shanahan wants to do on offense.

If thatís the real reason for why Shanahan is going with Beathard Sunday, itíll pass most peopleís smell test.

But it doesnít pass mine.

If Garoppolo isnít ready to play, why is he going to be in uniform on Sunday?

And why was he in uniform last week?

I get it: Garoppolo is not yet expert on Shanahanís system — who could be after a week or two? But if Shanahan trusted Garoppolo to play in an emergency situation last week against the Cardinals, albeit with a pared-down play-calling sheet, wouldn’t it stand to reason that with another week, Garoppolo would be more abreast to the system and, as a result, more capable of playing?

I wouldnít have expected 100 percent from Jimmy G on Sunday — again, I know Shanahan runs a complicated offense that Garoppolo, or any other quarterback who the 49ers brought in cold, might not be able to fully comprehend everything in that playbook until next yearís OTAs — but having now seen Beathard start three games, itís more than fair to say that 80, 70, even 60 percent of Garoppolo would give the Niners a better chance to win against the Giants.

And make no mistake, the Niners want to win on Sunday.

While some fans have (to their credit) come to rationalize an 0-16 season as a good thing, I can assure you that going winless is not advisable for this 49ersí team or Shanahan.

If Shanahan starts his career with the third winless season in modern-day NFL history, itíll be a stain that he probably wonít be able to wash out in his time in Santa Clara — it’d be an unforgivable offense. There’s only so much you can pin on injuries or former general manager Trent Baalke. If 0-16 comes to pass, no matter what Shanahan does in the years to come, heíll probably only be remembered for going winless in 2017 — itís a shame, but thatís the way it goes.

That said, there’s no doubt in my mind (nor should there be in yours) that Shanahan and his team are trying to win every game they play.

So, again, why isn’t Garoppolo playing?

Don’t blame the offensive line. It’s not going to get any better than it will be on Sunday against the Giants — Joe Staley is back at tackle, Trent Brown is playing, and if you think a bye week is somehow going to put the interior of this line in a good standing to block the Seahawks in a few weeks, I have about seven years of Seattle tape I can send you on a hard drive.

Yes, this offensive line is bad, but it’s going to be at "full strength" on Sunday and it’s not going to get any better in the weeks to come.

I understand not wanting to put a new quarterback behind this offensive line, but there won’t be a game this year where it’s "safe" to play Garoppolo.

And yes, Shanahan wants to play Garoppolo this season. He’s put him in uniform his first two weeks this season and he even hinted that he might start this week.

As such, all signs point to Garoppolo playing against Seattle on Nov. 26.

But why is Shanahan waiting?

The 49ers are playing a one-win team that’s coming from the East Coast on Sunday — this is their best chance to win this season.

Yes, they have a game against the Bears in December, but that’s on the road and that’s a toss-up game at its best. (I reserve the right to change my opinion on this: we’ll have to see how Garoppolo actually plays once he gets on the field.)

Other than that, the Niners have games against Seattle, Tennessee, Jacksonville, the L.A. Rams, and Houston.

Outside of Houston, all of those teams, believe it or not, are playoff contenders.

And other than the Bears game, the Texans game might be the Niners’ best shot for a win this season — but that game is on the road, too.

I have a hard time seeing how this 49ers team is going to be favorited in any game this season, so going winless is absolutely on the table for this team, and I can’t help but wonder why, after a week of teasing that Garoppolo could start against the Giants, Shanahan would decide that Beathard gives his team the best chance to win.

What the hell happened in practice on Thursday?

It’s not like Garoppolo is signed after this season. I understand that the 49ers will franchise tag him if the team and quarterback don’t come to a long-term extension soon (there’s been no movement on a new deal), but he’s not the franchise quarterback yet — there’s no reason to treat him with kid gloves, unless the Niners consider their cautious approach part of their negotiation strategy.

So who should this quarterback quandary be an indictment on? Shanahan for suiting up a quarterback he doesn’t trust (albeit only for emergency situations, which seem highly plausible behind this line…) or Garoppolo for not being prepared enough to demand he starts?

Either way, it’s a bad look.

I totally get wanting to give the new guy a fair shot in his first game — I get not wanting to rush Garoppolo into an unfair situation — but the NFL isn’t fair, and being the quarterback of this 49ers team is a deeply unfair position.